“This has been one of the toughest tragedies that I’ve ever had to deal with… both professional and personally, and this is something that will definitely affect my life forever,” Tony said. “This is a sadness and a pain I hope no one has to experience in their life. That being said, I know that the pain and the mourning that Kevin Ward’s family and his friends are experiencing, is something I can’t possibly imagine.”

“I’ve taken the last couple of weeks off out of respect for Kevin and his family and to cope with the accident my own way. It’s given me the time to think about life and how easy it is to take it for granted,” Tony added. “I miss my team, my teammates, and I miss being back in the race car. And I think being back in the car this week with my racing family will help me get through this difficult time.”

“At this moment there are no facts or evidence that would support a criminal charge or criminal intent,” Sheriff Phillip C. Povero said in a news conference on Sunday afternoon (August 10).

“This is right now being investigated as an on-track crash, and I don’t want to infer that there are criminal charges pending,” Povero added. “When the investigation is completed, we will sit down with the district attorney and review it. But I want to make it very clear: There are no criminal charges pending at this time.”

Here is the statement that Tony released following the tragedy: “There aren’t words to describe the sadness I feel about the accident that took the life of Kevin Ward Jr. It’s a very emotional time for all involved, and it is the reason I’ve decided not to participate in today’s race at Watkins Glen. My thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and everyone affected by this tragedy.”

Earlier in the day, it was still up in the air as to whether the 43-year-old driver would get behind the wheel.

“NASCAR spokesman says they are still gathering facts, but as of now there is nothing that would preclude Tony Stewart from racing today,” USA Today‘s Jeff Glucktweeted. “NASCAR spokesman clarifies it’s too early in process to say whether Tony Stewart will race today. NASCAR still gathering info, he says.”

In case you missed the news, the fatal accident took place during a dirt-track event at the Canandaigua Speedway on Saturday (August 9) in Canandaigua, N.Y. Tony‘s team has released a statement about the ongoing investigation.

“A tragic accident took place last night during a sprint car race in which Tony Stewart was participating,” spokesman Mike Arning said (via USA Today). “Tony was unhurt, but a fellow competitor lost his life. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends. We’re still attempting to sort through all the details and we appreciate your understanding during this difficult time.”

20-year-old driver Kevin Ward, Jr. died in the accident after he got out of his car on the track in the middle of the race and rushed at Tony‘s car.

“This is an ongoing investigation of an on-track crash,” Sheriff Philip C. Povero said, adding that Tony has been cooperative and that the investigation is not criminal. “Next is continuing interviews, a continued evaluation of evidence we have, including video, and there is certainly going to be an evaluation of medical evidence when it is collected from the autopsy.”

We continue to send out our thoughts to Kevin‘s loved ones during this difficult time.

It appears that Tony hit Kevin‘s car and caused it to swerve out of control. The young racer got out of his car and reportedly was yelling at Tony‘s car as it made its next lap around the track. That is when Tony ran his car into Kevin, who was standing on the side of the track.

“Tony pinched him into the front stretch wall, a racing thing,” Tyler Graves, a friend of Kevin‘s and fellow sprint car racer told The Sporting News. “The right rear tire went down, he spun on the exit of (Turn) 2. They threw the caution and everything was toned down. Kevin got out of his car. … He was throwing his arms up all over the place at Tony for most of the corner.”

“I know Tony could see him. I know how you can see out of these cars,” he added. “When Tony got close to him, he hit the throttle. When you hit a throttle on a sprint car, the car sets sideways. It set sideways, the right rear tire hit Kevin, Kevin was sucked underneath and was stuck under it for a second or two and then it threw him about 50 yards.”

We’ll continue updating more with this developing story as the details emerge.

In a crazy story that is currently developing, it appears that NASCAR driver Tony Stewart (pictured left) ran over fellow racer Kevin Ward Jr. after an altercation during a dirt-track event at the Canandaigua Speedway on Saturday (August 9) in Canandaigua, N.Y.

According to eyewitnesses, the 43-year-old driver hit Kevin‘s car and it spun out of control.

Kevin then got out of the car and when Tony was making his next lap around the track, he slammed into Kevin who was angrily rushing towards the car. People in the stands say that he flew more than 25 feet from the scene.

“People (who could see it better) said the guy got out of his car and was gesturing angrily at Tony Stewart when Tony Stewart came by during the next lap under yellow,” an eyewitness told The Sporting News. “He approached him and evidently when he was driving by the guy standing on the track gesturing at him, he gunned his engine. What happened was the back end kicked out and clipped the guy and the guy flew across the track.”

Police have confirmed that they are investigating the incident and no further details have been revealed yet. The race track updated its Facebook page after the incident saying that “Tonight’s racing events were suspended due to an accident. Please hold off on any speculation until we have further information to share.”

Tony is currently scheduled to be racing during the 2014 Cheez-It 355 in Watkins Glen on Sunday (August 10).